Management & Operations

Harsco wins Swiss rail utility vehicle contract

Harsco Corp. announced a major railway track and infrastructure maintenance equipment award from SBB, the federal railway system of Switzerland.

The contract comprises an initial order worth over $100 million through 2016, together with provisions for future options. Harsco Rail will supply SBB with a combination of specialty vehicles and Utility Track Vehicles (UTVs), a highly versatile rail-based maintenance configuration equipped with cranes, generators and/or work platforms that is widely used by railways throughout the world.

Delivery of the first vehicle is scheduled for 2015.

The units will be deployed on the Gotthard and Ceneri Base Tunnels.Both tunnels are integral parts of the Swiss AlpTransit project, a major undertaking to increase transport capacity across the Alps, while at the same time reducing the environmental damage associated with highway truck transport. The new technology Harsco Rail is developing for SBB will further support emissions reduction by utilizing an advanced, dual-mode traction system which, in turn, reduces diesel fuel consumption.

The SBB award considerably broadens the business landscape for Harsco Rail, introducing the first products the division will design and manufacture in Europe. Harsco Rail will purchase 40% of the content for the UTVs from Swiss suppliers, and also will utilize components from other proven European railway suppliers.

Some members said they want to shift the emphasis of the search to focus on a fresh batch of candidates whose skills are more suited to fixing problems that have come to light in the transit system in recent months.

C. Mikel Oglesby brings almost a quarter of a century of experience in the transit industry to his position, most recently operating Oglesby Consulting LLC, a firm he established to provide transportation expertise to the public and private sectors.